Letter wallet and billfold



July 9, 1940. M. E. TROLLEN LETTER WALLET AND BILLFOLD Filed Jan. 24,1938 Patented July 9, 1940 Brown & Bigelow, St. Paul,

' tion vof Minnesota Application January 24, 1.938, VSerial No.l186,5 63

2 claimt.l (o1. 150g-35')` l leather or similar material centrallyfolded upon itself and having one edge adjacent the folded Vedge sewedtogether. This provides a le with two open sides one side of which isopposite the folded edge, and the other side of which forms the top ofthe le to permit envelopes of larger size than the file to extendthrough this open edge. The present invention embodies a constructionsubstantially of this sort, but provides in addition thereto a removableinner compartment in which papers of a more confidential nature orcurrency may be contained.

It is a purpose of the present invention to provide a letter file ofsubstantially the usual type and to attach thereto an inner file adaptedto contain condential papers or money. This inner file is removablysecured within the letter iile so that it may be removed forfacilitating the placing of papers and the like into the same or mayberemoved entirely for a period of time and used as a billfold.

It is a purpose of the present invention to provide a letter le havingan inner lle attached thereto by a pivotal means so that the inner i'llemay be pivoted out of the letter le when it is desired to insert orremove papers from theinner le. This pivotal means is so positioned asto permit the inner le to be swung almost entirely out of the outer leso that all the pockets in the same will be readily accessiblethroughout their entire length for the insertion or removal of suchpapers. Thus in ordinary use it is not necessary to remove the inner lefrom the outer le as both files may be used while still attachedtogether. At the same time, however, the inner le when in normalposition is entirely enclosed within the outer le.

It is a feature of the presen-t invention that the inner le is readilyaccessible and may be easily used while at the same time the pockets inthe inner file into which papers may be inserted all open toward thefolded side of the outer letter iile. Thus the papers within the innerbillfold portion may be held in place within the billfold with littledanger of having these papers lost or misplaced, as such papers as areinserted into the inner 'billlold portion cannot be'talte'n-therefromunless the billfold is swung out into fopen position,

Thesandother objects and novel features of my inventionfwill be moreclearly andA fully set forthinthe following specification and claims.

In the' drawing 'forming a part of my application: Figurel is a frontelevation view of my wallet andibillfold in' closed position.`

` Figure 2 isv asimilar vview illustrating a portion of'the'o'uter-coverof the billfold broken away to disclose the inner construction thereof.v

Figure 3 is an edge view of the wallet and billfold illustrated inFigures 1 and `2. Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view in enlarged size of'the'wallet and billfold taken on thefline 4 4 of Figure 1.

l'igurefdis` across-sectional viewthrough the outer"-le tter lwalletwith the `inner billfold removed, the'lsecti'n being taken substantiallyalong th'lined-d of FigureL v Figure-Vis a 'side elevation view of the billfold removed 'from 't`he'letter wallet.

` lf'figiire"8 is` a "cross-sectional View through I'the billfold takenon: the line 8-8 of Figure' '7.

rI he letter wallet and billfold'A comprises two separable Ipartisganouter letter wallet "B, and 'fan inner billfold C. The letter wallet Bis attached to the billfold C by means of a snap fastener I0 in a mannerwhich will'be later more clearly described.

The letter file B comprises a body II formed of a flat sheet of leather,imitation leather, or other suitable material folded along one edge I2.As may be seen in Figures 2, 4, 5,'and 6, of the drawing, the body II isprovided with inturnedj marginal edges I3 which are preferably foldedback against the body II and adhered thereto. Rows of stitching I4extend through the body I I and through the marginal edges I3 along theupper edge I5 of the letter wallet and along lthe longitudinal edge I6thereofvopposite the folded edge I2.` As may be seen in Figures 1, 2,and 5 of the drawing, a row of stitching I 1 extends through both sidesof the body II and through oppositely disposedk flanges I3 along thelower edge I9 of the letter wallet, thus closing this lower edge toprevent papers inserted within the letter wallet from falling throughthis lower edge I9.

The letter le thus formed is similar to letter les which have previouslybeen constructed for UNITED STATES- ,oFFlcE Figures is a longitudinalsection taken on the the purpose of containing papers to be carried.

'I'he papers are held in place by the joined edges I2 and I9, but may beof any size as the edges I5 and I6 are entirely open. One portion of asnap fastener Ill is positioned through the body I I near the lowercorner of the letter wallet where the lower edge I9 and the outer edgeI6 meet. 'I'his portion of the fastener enables the billfold to beconnected to the wallet at this point.

The billfold C is constructed as best illustrated in Figures 4, 5, 7,and 8 of the drawing. This billfold C is formed of a flat sheet ofleather or similar material 20 which is folded at 2| to form oppositesides 22 and 23. The side 23 is shown shorter than the side 22 providinga pocket 24 in one side of the device. The body 20 is provided withinturned edges 25 extending along the edge 2B thereof opposite thefolded edge 2l and along the parallel edge 21 of the side 23. Thesemarginal edges are adhered in folded position as disclosed in Figure 8.

Between the sides 22 and 23 of the body 20 I provide a flat partitionsheet 29 extending closely adjacent the folded edge 2I and projecting toa point slightly spaced from the opposite edge 26. This latter edge ismarginally folded at 3U and adhered to the sheet 29 to present a doubleedge on this sheet.

The body 20 is provided on one side with extended marginal edges 3I bestseen in Figures 5 and 7 of the drawing,-which fold over the ends of thebillfold to seal these ends and which are held in this folded positionby stitching 32. This stitching 32 extends through both sides of thebody 2li, namely, the sides 22 and 23, through the partition sheet 29and through the marginal edge 3|. The ends of the billfold are thussecurely sealed.

lA portion of a snap fastener I 0 cooperable with the portion secured tothe letter wallet B is attached to the side 23 ofthe body 20 near thejuncture of the folded edge 2| of the billfold and thelower edge of thesame. By this means the billfold C may be pivotally and removablyattached to the letter wallet B and may be contained entirely within thesame as illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawing or may be swung into openposition as indicated by the dotted outline in Figure l of the drawing.

A From the foregoing description it will be clear that when the billfoldis swung into closed position as indicated in Figure 4 of the drawing,the pockets formed between the outer sheet 23 and the partition sheet 29and between the partition sheet 29 and the side 22, face inwardly towardthe folded edge I2 of the wallet. Thus papers supported by the billfoldcannot'be disengaged from the billfold while the same is in place asillustrated in Figure 4. However, when the le C is pivoted into thedotted outline position illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawing, thepockets are openly accessible, and papers may be inserted or removedwithout handicap. Whether o-r not the billfold is in place, the paperscontained in the letter wallet will not be effected and may be removedat will. If desired, the inner billfold C may be entirely removed bydisengaging the snap I0 and may be used temporarily as an ordinarybillfold.

Although I have illustrated the embodiment of my invention which Ibelieve to best illustrate the same, it will be readily understood thatvarious changes coming within the spirit of my in- Vention may suggestthemselves to' those skilled in the art, and hence I do not wish to belimited to the specific form shown or uses mentioned except to theextent indicated in the appended claims, which are to be interpreted asbroadly as the state of the art will permit.

I claim:

1. A letter wallet comprising a substantially rectangular letter fileincluding a pair of sides secured together along two adjacent edges, abillfold, and friction snap means positioned adjacent the juncture ofone of said closed edges and an open edge for pivotally and detachablysecuring said billfold to said letter file.

2. A letter wallet comprising a pair of opposed sides connected togetheralong a folded edge, said sides being closed together along an edgeadjacent said folded edge, a billfold having a folded edge, and meanssecuring the ends of the same together to provide a pocket, and frictionsnap means positioned adjacent the juncture of said closed edge and oneopen edge pivotally and detachably connecting said billfold and saidletter le to support said billfold with said pocket opposing said foldededge of said billfold` MARTIN E. TROLLEN.

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